BURNA BOY, TEMS NOMINATED FOR 2026 MTV VIDEO MUSIC AWARDS

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By Aishat Momoh. O.

Nigerian music stars Damini Ogulu, popularly known as Burna Boy, and Temilade Openiyi, better known as Tems, have secured nominations for the 2026 MTV Video Music Awards (VMAs).

The nominations were announced on Tuesday ahead of the awards ceremony scheduled to take place at the Peacock Theater in Los Angeles on September 27.

Burna Boy earned two nominations for his collaboration with Colombian singer Shakira on the 2026 FIFA World Cup official song, Dai Dai.

The Grammy-winning singer is nominated in the Best Collaboration category, where he will compete against artists including Clipse, Kendrick Lamar, Pusha T and Malice; French Montana and Max B; Madonna and Sabrina Carpenter; PinkPantheress and Zara Larsson; and Teyana Taylor and Lucky Daye.

The song also earned Burna Boy a nomination in the Best Latin category, placing him alongside nominees such as Anitta, Shakira, Bad Bunny, Fuerza Regida, Karol G, Rosalía and Ryan Castro.

Tems, meanwhile, received a Best R&B nomination for her collaboration with British rapper Dave on Raindance.

The Nigerian singer will compete against Bruno Mars, Chris Brown, Justin Bieber, Kehlani, and Mariah the Scientist and Kali Uchis in the category.

Madonna leads this year’s nominations with 11, while Taylor Swift follows with nine.

Other major nominees include Ariana Grande, Bruno Mars, Sabrina Carpenter and Taylor Swift, who are all in contention for the prestigious Video of the Year and Artist of the Year awards.

The 2026 VMAs will be broadcast live on CBS, with a simulcast on MTV and streaming on Paramount+. Fans can vote in most categories daily until September 25 at 6 p.m. ET.

Notably, the Best Afrobeats category, which featured at previous editions of the awards, is absent from this year’s nominations.

South African singer Tyla won the category in 2025 for Push 2 Start, beating Nigerian nominees including Burna Boy, Wizkid, Rema, Tems and Asake. She had also won the award in 2024 for Water, while Rema and Selena Gomez won the inaugural Afrobeats award in 2023 for Calm Down.

The MTV VMAs, established in 1984, recognise outstanding music videos, songs and artists and are known for their iconic Moonperson trophy.